This disclosure relates generally to telecommunication cables, and more particularly to enclosures for telecommunication cables and methods of installing such enclosures.
In a telecommunications network, there are typically several locations where one or more cables are spliced to other cables. For example, in a fiber optic network, optical fibers from a feeder cable may be spliced to respective optical fibers of one or more distribution cables at one location (such as a “local convergence point” or LCP). The distribution cables may then extend to another location (such as a “fiber distribution terminal”) where the optical fibers of the distribution cable are spliced to optical fibers of one or more subscriber drop cables. The splices at these various locations within a fiber optic network are typically housed within an enclosure (sometimes referred to as “splice closure” or simply “closure”), which may also be configured to house splitters, couplers, and other optical hardware. The closures protect the splices and hardware from environmental degradation, strain, and/or other undesirable forces, thereby increasing the reliability and quality of the splices.
A variety of designs are known for closures, including dome-type closures and in-line closures. Regardless of the particular design, telecommunication cables extending into an interior of a closure are typically restrained to protect the communication links (e.g., optical fibers or copper wires) carried within the cables from potentially damaging loads such as tensile, torsional, and/or bending loads. This “strain relief” may occur within the interior of the closure or on an exterior of the closure.
In addition to being provided with strain relief, many cables are electrically grounded to minimize the risk of damage or injury from unwanted electrical current. For example, some fiber optic cables include armor within the cables to provide additional mechanical strength/protection. The material of the armor is typically metal or another electrical conductor. Thus, although the optical fibers in such fiber optic cables may not carry electrical power, the conductive property of the armor creates the potential for electrical shocks and other hazards.
The strain relieving and grounding are performed when installing a closure in a telecommunications network. Although these steps have been performed in a variety of ways since the first use of closures, there remains room for improvement. Facilitating the steps (and, therefore, the installation of closures) remains desirable.